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California’s new smartphone law for schools

California governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law that will require school districts to frame restrictions that will curb their students’ use of smartphones. Some other U.S. states that have passed similar laws include Florida, Louisiana, and Indiana. Newsom hailed the new law and said that it would encourage students to focus on academics and their social lives in the real world instead of a screen.

However, there are plenty of critics for the policy. Many have pointed out that the burden of monitoring students’ cellphone use will fall on teachers, while others felt that smartphones were a necessity so that students could get in touch with loved ones during school shootings or other emergencies. The newly signed law will require districts to pass rules by July 1, 2026.

Telegram updates privacy policy

Telegram has updated its privacy policy so that it can share the IP addresses and phone numbers of users suspected of criminal activities and/or violating platform policies, with the relevant authorities for legal reasons. Telegram’s Privacy Policy section had undergone an update reflecting the new change, while CEO Pavel Durov also said that people had been abusing Search on Telegram in order to sell illegal goods.

In addition to these policy updates, Durov said that moderators were leveraging AI in order to make Search on Telegram safer for users whilst discouraging criminals. However, a number of users expressed their distress at the new policy, feeling that it represented a rollback of users’ privacy rights that Telegram had previously promised to uphold.

Meta AI may get celeb voices 

Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, and John Cena are some of the celebrities whose voices could come to the Meta AI chatbot, according to a source, reported Reuters. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads-parent Meta could announce the successful deals with these celebs this week, as more Big Tech firms look for innovative ways to make their AI chatbots appeal to users.

Meta users may be able to select a celebrity voice or a more generic one, per the source. The announcement could come during Meta’s Connect conference this week, where the Big Tech giant is also expected to show off the first version of its augmented-reality glasses, and reveal the future of devices such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.